Screen, Verdict Film Analysis - Lift (2021)

 

DIRECTOR : VINEETH VARAPRASAD

CAST : KAVIN, AMRITHA AIYER

Lift is a unique film that honors the conventions of its genre by employing psychological methods to create horror rather than relying on conventional jump scares. It effectively uses the setting of an elevator in a corporate environment to symbolize the constraints of daily existence, addressing profound existential themes with confidence.

Guru and Harini's typical workday takes a strange turn when they find themselves stuck in their haunted office. A patterned game reveals a secret, and the elevator becomes their sole means of escape.

For the most part, Lift is more misleading than it initially appears. It employs horror elements to trap two IT professionals within a glass building on OMR, while also addressing a broader commentary on the workplace culture in these companies.

The narrative in Lift takes a dark turn as Guru's malfunctioning elevator symbolizes the claustrophobic and suffocating nature of IT careers, echoing earlier frustrations about the pressures of middle-class aspirations. While it initially offers the illusion of upward mobility and flexibility, it ultimately reveals the harsh truth of being trapped in a cycle of job insecurity and unattainable dreams, suggested by the ghostly presence in the office, representing lost aspirations and a cemetery of unfulfilled potential.